The Knoxville City Council approved a resolution, eight to one, on first reading last week, that would allocate a portion of new potential sales tax revenue to affordable housing.
On Tuesday, Knoxville voters will decide whether to approve a 0.5 percentage-point increase in the sales tax, from 2.25 percent to 2.75 percent.
The resolution that advanced to second reading would allocate the smaller amount — between $10 million or 22 percent of the potential tax increase — to affordable housing.
Knoxville anticipates that a potential sales tax increase will boost revenue by $47 million annually.
According to current city law, the mayor’s budget proposals must allocate at least $5 million to affordable housing.
Since 2021, Knoxville has spent almost $35 million on affordable housing. The resolution says the city has created 1,926 affordable housing units and developed 264 permanent supportive housing units.
“With this success, the City nonetheless recognizes that ongoing and anticipated changes in federal financial and technical support for affordable housing development will continue to
shift the burden of growing and preserving affordable housing development to state and local Authorities,” the resolution says.
At the city council meeting, two people associated with Justice Knox, a left-wing religious nonprofit, spoke in favor of using Knoxville tax money to fund affordable housing.
Sue Stevens, who is a local resident, stated, “homelessness is a housing problem” at its roots. She added that affordable housing allows people to “thrive and live well,” which in turn makes Knoxville’s community “also thrive.”
Rick Carter, an associate priest at the Church of the Good Shepard in Fountain Hills, thanked the council for approving the resolution, stating that it moves the city closer to a “just, compassionate, and thriving community for all.”
Throughout his time talking, Carter provided examples of people who had benefited from the program.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the last time Knoxville residents approved a sales tax increase referendum occurred in 1988.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
